Create Sustainability

A Constitution that guarantees an eco-sustainable community

The Constitution of Damanhur provides that its citizens avoid all forms of pollution and waste as much as possible. It also prohibits all forms of excess as a prerequisite for achieving a harmonious and healthy balance, inside and outside of ourselves. Damanhur moves in the direction of complete self-sufficiency for many reasons: to acquire and develop the widest possible range of skills (from simple personal skills to the great competencies of specialized companies), to ensure the high quality of its products, and to be able to provide for any kind of necessity. From the nutritional point of view, Damanhur has an agricultural cooperative that covers a large part of the citizens' overall needs with extensive crops, vegetables, fruit orchards and cattle farming. In many communities, there are small and large gardens, food conservation projects and small animal raising-al of which make the concept of self-sufficiency even more concrete. All production is strictly organic and GMO-free. The Seed Bank, with both local seeds and ones from farther away, is the ideal completion of the production chain. There are also numerous Damanhur-based companies working in different fields of sustainability. In addition to those related food production and preservation, there is also a distribution center for organic products, and a complete series of companies for environmentally friendly construction-from architectural planning and construction to renewable energy design and installation. Most of the businesses are located at Damanhur Crea in Vidracco, Italy, a multifunctional space restored from a former Olivetti factory that had been abandoned for 20 years.The "Credito," the complementary currency system used in Damanhur since the beginning of the community, is also a way to promote sustainability. The Credito is used by companies connected to Damanhur and also by other local businesses, and it favors the realization of a short-chain local economy.